safety

[cornsqueezens]

This is my first still. I wanted to build 1 and ferment some mash and see if I could actually produce alcohol which I have successfully. but I have noticed some clear floating debris in it?? I have not drank any of it yet I want to perfect the craft first. I am a hvac technician I work on boilers and refrigeration equipment. I have a very good understanding of evaporation and condensing I am wondering if it is from my seal I used silicone on a stainless steel stockpot? I did not want to spend a lot of money until I could figure out if I can actually do this. I have only done a strip run and my w product was cloudy and had the floating debris. I guess my main question is is it safe to use silicone? or Teflon tape or RTV or what the hell do you seal it with???!I used ujssm.

[just-a-sip]

ok ok ok

welcome to HD

please head over to the welcome center adn let us in on a little bit of your experience and what it is your working toward.

now as for silicone ditch it. there are plenty of safer things to use. silicone has been discussed here in length, and although there are mixed decisions there are some great things that are completely agreed upon and known as safe and therefore are better to use. as fort the not wanting to spend a lot of money on this hobby you may what to change your mind about getting involved in the first place, lol. this is not a cheap hobby so i hope your ready for it. start by doing some searches on sealing your boiler. flour past works wonders and is super safe. cant go wrong with it.

[ipee7ABV]

it also needs to be cleaned
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=15489
then read
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46
and this never hurts
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =35&t=5090

[dakotasnake]

silicon is a big no. its liking eating caulk from around your windows. as mentioned flour paste, teflon tape, lasagna noodles , pie crust are all good. i use natural undyed felt myself. natural cork can work to. no rubber or silicon or synthetic concoctions are good or healthy with contact to hi alcohol and heat.

[cornsqueezens]

Thanks dakotasnake you answered my question with the cork that's what I was

silicon is a big no. its liking eating caulk from around your windows. as mentioned flour paste, teflon tape, lasagna noodles , pie crust are all good. i use natural undyed felt myself. natural cork can work to. no rubber or silicon or synthetic concoctions are good or healthy with contact to hi alcohol and heat.

thanks that answered my question perfectly! Cork is what I was planning on using.

[cornsqueezens]

it also needs to be cleaned
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=15489
then read
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46
and this never hurts
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =35&t=5090

Thanks ipee7ABV did not know that about the vinegar! After I got everything soldered up I ran water through it for an hour with my water hose. to clean it out and then I pour some distilled water in it and fired up and ran it throug. And I think you also help me identify the floating debris in it. I have to admit I wanted to see if I can actually build a still and produce booze before I got in to deep. So I filled it up with beer and ran it through. I believe the floating debris I see is oil from the hops. I read in your link that oil from the hops is hard to remove. now that I know I can actually produce alcohol I'm going to build a copper still.

[ipee7ABV]

it also needs to be cleaned
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=15489
then read
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46
and this never hurts
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =35&t=5090

Thanks ipee7ABV did not know that about the vinegar! After I got everything soldered up I ran water through it for an hour with my water hose. to clean it out and then I pour some distilled water in it and fired up and ran it throug. And I think you also help me identify the floating debris in it. I have to admit I wanted to see if I can actually build a still and produce booze before I got in to deep. So I filled it up with beer and ran it through. I believe the floating debris I see is oil from the hops. I read in your link that oil from the hops is hard to remove. now that I know I can actually produce alcohol I'm going to build a copper still.

hopps can leave oils but late tales will do the same. now you need to decide if you want to make flavored stuff(pot still) or nuetral (reflux). i have a nixon stone so i can do both. read all you can and enjoy

[rad14701]

Cork needs to be pure music grade rather than composite cork made from crumbs and glue... Again, for safety reasons...

[cornsqueezens]

Cork needs to be pure music grade rather than composite cork made from crumbs and glue... Again, for safety reasons...

Thanks Brad but I didn't the cork to it would not hold together good to soft I went with a cardboard and teflon tape gasket it works awesome!! I am NOT going to be using this still very much longer. around the first of the year I am going to build a 30 gallon steel. That way I can do 35 gallon barrels of mash. from all the research I have done I have learned that mash does better in a larger batch I want to go old school as well. No yeast just corn malt sugar

[ipee7ABV]

Cork needs to be pure music grade rather than composite cork made from crumbs and glue... Again, for safety reasons...

Thanks Brad but I didn't the cork to it would not hold together good to soft I went with a cardboard and teflon tape gasket it works awesome!! I am NOT going to be using this still very much longer. around the first of the year I am going to build a 30 gallon steel. That way I can do 35 gallon barrels of mash. from all the research I have done I have learned that mash does better in a larger batch I want to go old school as well. No yeast just corn malt sugar

by steel i hope you mean ss

[rad14701]

+1 on it needing to be stainless steel...

Starting to wonder about the whole scaling up idea you have with regard to "hobby scale"...

[cornsqueezens]

+1 on it needing to be stainless steel...

Starting to wonder about the whole scaling up idea you have with regard to "hobby scale"...

I want to scale up because I can drink it faster than I can make it! Lol! My local brew store is out of turbo yeast. Which I have discovered I can get higher concentrations of alcohol thus more booze. Out of 6 gallons of mash ( ujssm) I could only get a quart after the second run. I did a strip and then a spirit run. I have been using a baker's yeast going to step up to the turbo!

[Prairiepiss]

And your gona have a bunch more heads and tails from that turbo crap. If you haven't noticed all the posts around here about them not being a good choice. Then you haven't done near enough research. There is a reason turbos aren't recommended around here or used in the tried and true recipe sections.

[ipee7ABV]

+1 on it needing to be stainless steel...

Starting to wonder about the whole scaling up idea you have with regard to "hobby scale"...

I want to scale up because I can drink it faster than I can make it! Lol! My local brew store is out of turbo yeast. Which I have discovered I can get higher concentrations of alcohol thus more booze. Out of 6 gallons of mash ( ujssm) I could only get a quart after the second run. I did a strip and then a spirit run. I have been using a baker's yeast going to step up to the turbo!

you might want to read a lot more. this is a start.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... turbo+rant
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=13267